Caroline, 49, came out as a lesbian in 1985 at the age of 17 whilst living in Dundee.

Homosexuality had only been decriminalised in Scotland five years previous, and there would not be a Pride march in Scotland for another decade.

She described homophobia in the 1980s as being “everywhere,” endorsed at the highest levels of the government, church, and police, and perpetuated by the media. Feeling “disconnected and disillusioned” with the attitudes in Scotland, she made the decision in 1986 to pack her bags and move to London with her first girlfriend.

“It was a completely different landscape in London. I felt like I had come home. I felt like I had an identity and belonged in a community.”

At the height of the HIV epidemic, she began working at London Lighthouse, a HIV/AIDS centre: “[The HIV epidemic] perpetuated the homophobic views that were already around, towards gay men in particular. It was picked up and run with in a discriminatory way by the press. It was a ‘gay plague’; it was ‘the gay disease.’”

It was at this time that the LGBTI community really came together, campaigning for better education and awareness around the transmission of HIV. – “Seeing the strength and resilience of our community coming together was really powerful and I feel privileged to have been part of the movement.”

In the 1980s and 90s, Pride marches were primarily political demonstrations for LGBTI rights, with campaigns around issues such as Section 28 of the Local Government Act, which had prohibited local authorities from ‘promoting’ homosexuality. The newly formed Scottish Government abolished Section 28 in one of its first Acts of Parliament in 2000, and England and Wales followed in 2003.

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“We campaigned for years over Section 28. When it was repealed, the impact was being able to educate young people and validate the identities of the next generation. For my step-daughter, her family was legitimised – it was OK for her to say that she had same-sex parents. It gave us a voice to challenge homophobic views. I feel proud of us taking a stand and campaigning because we contributed to enabling Prides to become the inclusive celebratory events they are today.”

Fast forward 28 years, Caroline returned with her wife to live in a vastly different Scotland from that which she had left in 1986. Due to her previous experiences, she was nervous about the racism and homophobia she might face upon her return, but thankfully, it has been a positive experience so far: “People don’t blink an eye. People are happy for you. That is the overriding emotion – not anything of disgust or distaste, nothing of a discriminatory underpinning.”

Scotland is now a world leader on LGBTI rights, and thirty years after Caroline came out, was rated as the best country in Europe for legal equality. With three out of the five political party leaders identifying as LGB, there is visibility in those places of power and influence where homophobia had previously been driven. Pride is also celebrated annually in both Glasgow and Edinburgh, and there are now more Pride events across the UK than there has ever been before.

While significant progress has been made, there is still much work to be done: to improve legal equality for trans people, and to combat homophobia, biphobia and transphobia within schools, workplaces, public services, the church, and sporting environments.

Caroline now works as Programmes Manager for Stonewall Scotland, helping to drive LGBTI inclusion within workplaces.